to keep these fellows busy i thought we were
going to have a couple of john's fingers left
over here for a moment there got all ten of them
excuse me eight of them all right thank you very
much let's open the word of god together now
to the second chapter of the gospel of luke we
have here of course a story that is unique to
the gospel of luke as is also the rest of the
chapters one and two Only Luke records these
things for us. I'm going to begin reading in
verse 8. And in the same region there were some
shepherds, staying out in the fields and keeping
watch over their flock by night. And an angel
of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the
glory of the Lord shone round about them. They
were terribly frightened. And the angel said
to them, Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring
you good news of a great joy which shall be for
all the people. For today in the city of David
there has been born for you a Savior, who is
Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for
you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and
lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts,
praising God and saying, Glory to God in the
highest and on earth, peace among men with whom
he is pleased. And it came about when the angels
had gone away from them into heaven, that the
shepherds began saying to one another, Let us
go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing
that has happened, which the Lord has made known
to us. And they came in haste and found their
way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay
in the manger. And when they had seen this, they
made known the statement which had been told
them about this child. And all who heard it wondered
at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering
them in her heart. And the shepherds went back,
glorifying and praising God for all that they
had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
The shepherds in Palestine were the lowest rung
on the ladder of society. In fact, shepherds
were considered to be men of rather low reputation
and suspicious character at that particular time.
Work for them was considered by the Jewish leaders
to be ceremonially unclean, and so they were
not welcome guests in most places. We learn of
these shepherds that they were in the same region.
It is interesting to note that Luke carefully
includes in his gospel geographical and historical
detail that others seem not to desire to include.
Here he uses a term that he uses more times than
any other writer of scripture. In the same region.
Literally it means a place in between. a space
lying in between two other places. The idea is
that this was a nearby place between Bethlehem
and some other point of reference. The shepherds
were staying out in their fields with the sheep.
Literally, it meant to make the field one's courtyard.
That's what the verb means here. And so it means
that these men were used to living out. in the
open air. These were rough and rugged men. It
says, furthermore, they were keeping watch over
their flocks, which tells us that they were guarding
them, guarding them undoubtedly from predators
and perhaps, too, from thieves. Now, considering
the kind of men that these were, why is it that
the angels gave the announcement to such men?
In the first place, I believe it is because the
gospel was presented first to social outcasts.
These men represent the common and ordinary folks
who, by and large, have been the ones to receive
the gospel down through the years of the last
two millennia. Furthermore, It is possible that
these shepherds, because of where they were and
the time of year that this likely was, it's possible
that they were raising lambs which were to be
slaughtered as a part of the sacrifice at the
Passover within a few months. And so if these
men were in fact watching Passover lambs, The
announcement of the birth of Jesus Christ, God's
Passover lamb, is all the more significant in
being given to them. To this lot of men, a solitary
angel suddenly appeared, and God's glory shone
around them. This glory is that Shekinah glory
of God. It is the glory of his presence. It is
visible, radiated light. that comes from God.
And the men were alarmed, it says. They reacted
with great fear. These men this morning knew
that light was going to turn on, thus they were
rather calm as that light was turned on. But
not so with those shepherds 2 ,000 years ago.
It says they feared a great fear. They were absolutely
terrified by what was taking place. And you can
understand that. They reacted much the same that
you would if suddenly you were caught up in a
situation that was obviously supernatural as
well as unexpected. But to them was given a word
of assurance and then an explanation of what
was taking place, an announcement of the birth
of Christ the Lord. And then suddenly, with that
solitary angel, there appeared a multitude of
angels. And they began saying, now whether they
actually sang these words or they merely said
them as a large group, we do not have the ability
to know. But what they sang or said is recorded
for us. Glory to God in the highest. And on earth,
peace among men with whom he is pleased. And
then slowly, the angels withdrew. the verb says,
into the realm of heaven, leaving the shepherds
alone in the stillness of that dark night. Through
this startling announcement which was given to
them, the shepherds responded. And the response
of the shepherds is the focus of our study this
morning. If you think about it, the response
of the shepherds parallels... That response should
come from every person who hears the good news
of Christ the Lord. In the first place, the shepherd's
response was an obedient response. It did not
have to be so. In fact, the responsibility to
go and to see was only implied in what the angel
said. There was no actual command. but they understood
the announcement to be an implied command. And
so they immediately went to see the child. This
obedience, it seems to me, is parallel of New
Testament faith, which is also, by the way, called
obedience. Faith in the New Testament is called
obedience, not as a work of human effort, or
merit but rather as an appropriate and right
response to the gospel turn over to the book
of romans quickly and look with me at chapter
one of romans of what the apostle paul writes
he says paul a bond servant of jesus christ called
as an apostle set apart for the gospel of god
which he promised beforehand through his prophets
in the holy scriptures concerning his son, who
was born as a descendant of David, according
to the flesh. That's what we're studying about
here in the birth of Christ. Who was declared
the Son of God with power by the resurrection
from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Now notice verse 5. Through
whom we have received grace and apostleship to
bring about the obedience of faith. among all
the Gentiles for his name's sake. Notice that
he calls it here the obedience of faith. Turn
again to the last chapter of the book of Romans,
chapter 16. And look in verse 25. As he closes
this writing, he says, Now to him who is able
to establish you according to my gospel and the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation
of the mystery which has been kept secret for
long ages past, but now is manifested, and by
the scriptures of the prophets, according to
the commandment of the eternal God, has been
made known to all the nations, notice the last
phrase, leading to obedience of faith. Now Peter
joins with Paul in this same thought that faith
is really obedience. He says, God has chosen
you through the sanctification of the Spirit
to obey the truth and to be sprinkled with the
blood of Jesus Christ. Here's my point. The response
of the shepherds was an obedient response. That
is parallel to the response of every person who
becomes a Christian. Because in becoming a Christian,
we are actually obeying the gospel. It is an
obedient response in faith. Paul says that, Peter
says that, and Luke certainly implies it in what
the shepherds did. Now here is my real point.
It is this, that the gospel of Jesus Christ is
not an option which can be considered. It is
not merely an opportunity, for that matter, to
see, but rather the gospel of Jesus Christ is
an order which is to be obeyed. That is why in
Acts chapter 16, in response to the question
of the jailer, what must I do to be saved? Paul
and Silas said to him, believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. and you shall be saved. That is not an
option. That is not even an invitation. That
is a command to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it says that he did believe. And my friend,
when he believed, he but obeyed the gospel. In
the very next chapter, the apostle puts it differently
as he speaks to the philosophers and intellectuals
in Athens. He says, God has commanded all men
everywhere to repent. That's the word that he
uses there instead of the word to believe. Repentance
is the other side of faith. One cannot savingly
believe in Jesus Christ without repenting of
sin, changing his mind about his sin, about what
he's been trusting in, and turning to Christ.
That is what the apostle emphasizes in Athens.
He says, God has commanded all men everywhere
to repent. Why? Because one day he is going to
judge the world, a day which he has already appointed.
And he says he has given assurance that he's
done this by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. The proper response, my friend,
to the gospel of Jesus Christ is the same response
that the shepherds had. It is a response of obedience.
It is believing. It is repenting. The gospel
of Christ is an ultimatum, actually, which is
delivered by a loving and holy God to a world
of sinful people. You say an ultimatum? Yes.
It is an ultimatum. That may be defined as any
final proposal or statement of condition. The
gospel of Jesus Christ, his death, burial, and
resurrection from the dead, and the necessity
of personal faith in Jesus Christ, my friend,
that gospel is not just another religious message.
That is God's last... declaration of terms. And
if it is rejected, it results in judgment. Your
hearing of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a command
for you to respond. And I know that many of you
have responded in trusting Jesus Christ, in believing
on him. But the fact is that anyone who has ever
heard the gospel has responded in one way or
another. It may be an obedient response. Would
the God it were always that case? It is not.
There are those who choose to disobey the gospel.
They will not believe. They will not repent.
And the result is tragedy for them. You say,
what do you mean? He reminds you of the words
of Jesus himself in the third chapter of the
Gospel of John. He said, He who believes the
Son shall have everlasting life. But he who does
not obey the Son. Notice there the parallel of
those two words. He who does not obey the Son,
he says, the wrath of God right now, presently.
abides on him. And it is but the mercy and the
grace of God that that wrath is not taken away
to his deserved eternal punishment. But if there
is not belief and retention, then one day it
will. The wrath of God will not always be held
back. The Apostle Paul warns about this in 2
Thessalonians chapter 1. True, it is in the context
of the last days. These are sobering words. In
2 Thessalonians 1 and verse 6, he says, For after
all, it is only just for God to repay with affliction
those who afflict you and to give relief to you.
who are afflicted, and to us as well, when the
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with
his mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out
retribution to those who do not know God and
to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus. What is Paul saying by the Spirit here?
He is warning. He is warning every person who
does not know God, who will not obey the gospel
of God, that one day the Lord Jesus will come
and he will give retribution to every such one.
That word retribution literally means out of
justice. In other words, our Lord will give an...
punishment now it's not going to be with vindictiveness
it is not going to be with meanness that he will
do so but with justice that's all unless there
be any doubt as to what that means in verse 9
he says and these will pay the penalty of eternal
destruction Notice this is not annihilation,
as though the wicked will simply somehow lose
their existence as punishment. He talks here
about eternal destruction, away from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of His power.
Dear friend, if you are here today and you have
not obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ, do you
understand the peril of your soul? Do you understand
the alternative that you are selecting? You say,
well, wait a minute, preacher. You're suggesting
that somehow I've made a deliberate choice not
to obey the gospel. And I haven't. I just haven't
decided yet. Do you understand, though, my friend,
that that indecision is itself a response? It
is a delay. It is neglect. It's dangerous. The
shepherds, when they heard the announcement of
the gospel given by the angels, responded with
an obedient response. And oh, may you do that
today as well if you have not. May you today
obey the gospel of Jesus Christ and submit yourself
to him who came 2 ,000 years ago in the manger
and who lived a perfect life that he might go
to the cross and be a sin bearer, he sin bearer
for you. Obey the gospel of Jesus Christ in responding
this morning to the gospel. And then secondly,
notice with me that the shepherds' response was
an immediate response. Going back to Luke chapter
2. Notice that it says that the angels went slowly
back to heaven and the shepherds then began to
converse. And here was their conversation. Let
us go straight to Bethlehem then, in verse 16.
And they came in haste. That word straight is
an idiom from that day that has the force of
urgency about it. That urgency is underscored
by what is said then in verse 16. They knew that
they dared not delay. What had been... commanded
of them, demanded a response, an early response.
This was an occasion of exigence. This was an
unrepeatable opportunity, and they needed to
act quickly. Not always do we need to act quickly.
Obviously, if we are in danger, we act quickly.
I was driving down the road the other day when
this unlicensed driver undoubtedly pulled out
right in front of me. And I had to react quickly.
And I kept reacting for about 15 minutes after
that. But I straightway reacted. In haste, I
reacted. You know to do that when you're in danger,
but not just when you're in danger. In times
of great opportunity, we react quickly. A friend
of ours, Bob Heinrich, who leads the Clean Up
Minnesota project for the Berean League, got
a phone call about three weeks ago on a Monday.
And the phone call was from Washington. And the
person said, we would like you to be here at
2 .30 tomorrow afternoon to meet with President
Reagan. Well, that was 2 .30 on Monday afternoon.
He had to be there by 2 .30 on Tuesday afternoon.
Let me tell you, he made hate. He had to get
a ticket, he had to get to Washington, he had
to get his clothes packed, make all kinds of
preparations to be there for that meeting of
those who were involved in the fight against
pornography. He made hate. You see, there are
times in our lives when we know it's right to
make hate. May I tell you that with regard to
salvation, it is a time for urgency. It is not
a time for delay. It is not a time to wait and
see. It is not a time for later, we'll take care
of it. You say, why is that? At least for three
reasons. In the first place, one soul is in perpetual
peril until it is saved. We've already referred
to the verse, John 3, 36, that warns that even
right now the wrath of God rests upon those who
are lost. Why is it urgent for one to respond
to the gospel? Because at every moment until
he does, his soul is in peril. In peril. In danger
of hell. Secondly, it is urgent because one's
heart. is in danger of hardness with each refusal.
I think of Pharaoh, who was given a command through
Moses, but from God, let my people go. He refused
to do that and hardened his heart. And judicially,
God hardened his heart more. And that process
kept up as he would refuse. until his heart was
hardened beyond any hope. So it is, my friends,
the heart of the sinner who refuses, who waits,
who delays, who turns away the Spirit of God.
It is dangerous. It is urgent that one respond
because the heart is in danger of becoming hardened.
And a third reason is because one's life is not
guaranteed. There is not one of us who is guaranteed
of being here tomorrow, are we? If you had said
to Mayor Washington in Chicago that by today
he would have already been in the grave several
days, if you had said that two weeks ago, he
might have stopped at you. Because none of us
really believe how tenuous life is. That it's
only one breath. at a time. And at any moment,
the heart can stop. I was reminded of that in
my own mother's death this last summer. And as
a result of what she experienced and some others
in our family have experienced, I decided to
have my own heart checked out this fall. And
I was sent down for a stress test at one of our
local hospitals. I don't know if you've ever
been through that. That's an interesting experience.
When they call it stress test, that's exactly
what it is. They intend to stress you to the
point that your heart really can't take anymore.
They don't do it so it's dangerous for you, hopefully.
But they stress you as much as you can take because
they want to see what kind of cardiac condition
you're in. I got up about the nine -minute point.
And the doctor's over here looking at all of
this equipment that looks like I was going to
the moon. And he says, what was that? And here
I am camping for all my life, you know, running
on this treadmill uphill. And he says, what was
that? And I'm supposed to answer him coherently.
That's like the dentist who gets all that stuff
in your mouth and then starts talking to you,
asking you questions, right? I said, what was
what? He said, what did you feel? I said, I don't
know. Maybe my heart skipped. He said, yeah,
that's right. And so we eventually got off the
thing. And I sat down to cool off. And he began
to watch the machine more. And as a result of
what he saw there, he thought I could have some
more tests. So I did. And I'm glad to report
to you that I had just a minor problem with the
congenital. and is not life -threatening, and
I praise the Lord for that. But I'll tell you
what, I took those tests back the first part
of November. I didn't find out the result of
them until December the 3rd. A long month, my
friend. And during that month, while it didn't
just really grind on me, I was reminded of my
heart on a number of occasions. And every time
I had a little twin here, a little gas pain.
You know, I thought it may be a heart attack
coming on. Whenever I would feel something going
on in my chest, I wondered, what is this? For
that month, I was reminded more than I ever have
in my life that life is just a heartbeat at a
time. Now there's 100 ,000 of them every day
in the average heart. It's just a heartbeat at
a time. And when it stops, that's it. Here's
my point. The response to the gospel of Jesus
Christ needs to be an immediate response. By
that, I am not saying it should be premature.
I'm not saying it should be coerced by someone
else. But I am saying if you understand your
need of Jesus Christ as Savior, you dare not
delay, but like those shepherds, you had better
straightway. You had better with faith come to
the cross and trust him. If the Holy Spirit is
dealing with you today, please, please do not
delay a day longer. For the word of God says,
how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?
Don't neglect it. And then finally, the shepherd's
response was an innovative response. By that
I mean it produced a change in their lives. They
were different men as a result of what they experienced.
In the first place, notice that their tongues
were employed with a new method. I don't know
what they talked like before, but I can almost
imagine, can't you? Here were rough men who were
used to living out of doors, working with animals
all their lives. It does not take a great imagination
to suppose that these were rather coarse, crude,
perhaps even vulgar men. They were certainly
earthy. And yet as a result of this experience,
they now had a heavenly message on their tongues.
For it says in verse 11 that they repeated the
announcement of the angels. Excuse me, verse
17 says that they repeated the statement that
had been told them about the child in verse 11.
So they had a new message on their tongue. That
was one response. Secondly, notice that their
routine was resumed with a new awareness. It
does say here that they went back to the field.
That was God's plan for them. They had to take
up their responsibilities where they had left
off. The flock had to be cared for. But they
went back different. Their routine was resumed
with a new awareness. For now, suddenly, they
were aware of Emmanuel. God is with us. And not
only in a baby, in a manger, with Christ the
Lord, but they were aware that at any moment...
One of God's emissaries could step through the
veil and appear in their presence, and the glory
of God's Shekinah could be there with them. So
here you see that they went back to their fields
with a new awareness of God. They couldn't stay
at the manger. You know, sometimes those who
are newly converted wish that somehow they could
just keep having that same fresh excitement.
that new experience as when they were first saved.
It's sort of like the shepherds wishing they
could stay right there at the manger scene, but
my friend, God's plan for us is to get back to
the routine of life. Life is mostly routine.
Life is mostly that way. But the fact is that
we go back to our routine after conversion with
a new awareness of the presence of God, and it
changes the routine. Nothing can ever be the
same again because of the presence of the Lord.
And then I noticed thirdly that their hearts
were filled with a new joy. Notice that they
went back rejoicing, glorifying, praising God.
They were filled with joy that the Savior had
been born. They were filled with joy that they
had received this word from God. And it suggests
in verse 20 likewise that they were filled with
joy that God had fulfilled his promise to his
people. My friend, can your heart rejoice in
those same truths today? Christmas can sometimes
be a hard season. As I suggested in the newsletter
today in my letter to you, it can be filled with
melancholy, with nostalgia. For some, Christmas
is a very lonely time, even though there may
be a crowd of people around. More people end
their lives at this time of the year than any
other time. The one who has trusted Jesus Christ,
who has obeyed the gospel, is one who can have
a heart filled with joy. Joy that the Savior
has been born. Joy that he has learned that because,
my friend, there are multiplied millions in the
world who have never heard that yet. We can rejoice
that we have heard it, that we've been led by
grace to believe it and been saved. We can rejoice
that God has fulfilled his promise to save us
from our sins and to give us an eternal hope
in Jesus Christ. There is great reason for joy
at this time of year. Shepherds responded with
an innovative response. Their tongues were employed
with a new message. Their routine was resumed
with a new awareness. Their hearts were filled
with a new joy. These were different men than
they had been hours before. Such as always. Always
the overflow of the heart that has responded
obediently to the gospel of Christ. We used to
sing a chorus that said, if you want joy, real
joy, wonderful joy, what? Well, you know it well
enough, let's sing it. Can we do that? If you
don't know it, you'll pick it up real quick.
And I will not be singing a solo. You understand
that? Okay. As long as you understand that, I'll
take the microphone off in a minute. Let's sing
it together. If you want joy, real joy, wonderful
joy, let Jesus come into your heart. Repeat it
again. If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy,
You can tell who's been to YFC. Remember singing
that in the rally? My friend, this is true today
as it was 25 or 30 years ago when I first sang
that. If you want the joy of God in your heart,
it's through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The
angel said, Glory to God in the highest, peace
on earth. To those with whom God is pleased,
who are those? Those who have obeyed the gospel.
Do you want peace today? I'm talking to someone
here whose life is an absolute wreck. My friend,
the answer for you is in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. It's in coming to know him. Will you
obey that gospel today? You know, in the time
of Jesus, there was a certain kind of peace.
It was called a Pax Romana. It was a Roman peace
which was enforced by the sword. One of the Roman...
Thinkers of the first century Epictetus said,
while the emperor may give peace from war on
land and sea, he is unable to give peace from
passion, grief, and envy. He cannot give peace
of heart for which man yearns more than even
for outward peace. This week in Washington, D
.C., the world's... Two greatest leaders are
going to meet to try to take some steps toward
peace. I wish them well. But if they accomplish
everything they hope to accomplish this week,
they can never bring peace to your heart. Peace
from your grief. Peace from your passion. Peace
from your guilt. But Jesus Christ can. And he
will. If you'll obey him and believe on him.
Let's bow again. My friend, as you sit there,
as I stand here, let's realize that we cannot
be exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and
not respond. We must respond in some way. Had
the shepherds done nothing, That would have been
a response. A sad one, but a response. Will you
right now at this moment place your faith in
Jesus Christ? Will you receive him to save you
from your sins? Will you invite him to come into
your life? There are no magic words for you.
God knows your heart. Will you do it? Will you
say yes or no right now to Jesus Christ? I beg
of you, say yes. And my friend, if that is your
heart's decision, and if in this service at this
time you have said yes to Jesus Christ, And you
have believed on him for the salvation of your
soul. I'd like you to publicly imitate that right
now, at least to me, by lifting your hand and
putting it down. I'm not going to embarrass you.
We're not even going to have a public come forward
kind of invitation today. But I would like to
know that you've made that decision. Would you
lift your hand and put it down? Are you sure
that I see? God bless you. I see your hand. Two,
three, four, five. Over here, yes, my left. Thank
you. Anyone else? Now, I realize it's a very
personal and private thing, and yet it's one
that all can rejoice in with you. I hope you
will share it with someone, your husband, your
wife, a friend. But I'm going to ask you to do
this. to share it with me by writing me a letter
this afternoon or tomorrow and dropping it in
the mail to me at the church office, letting
me know what you've done today, giving me your
name and address so that I can send you some
helpful information. Father, thank you for working
in this congregation this morning in the hearts
of all of us, and I pray that we will be like
the shepherds in our response. Oh God, whatever
you tell us. May our response be obedient. May
it be an immediate response. Make us different
as a result of our continual yieldedness to your
lordship in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.